The current mixed methods study uses historical quantitative data collected from Qualtrics surveys with some qualitative data collected from seven elementary principals and two key informants to expand upon the quantitative data. The study was conducted in a large suburban school district in North Texas. The researcher used Qualtrics surveys from…

Researchers use data from the RAND American Mathematics Educator Study surveys of public school principals and teachers to investigate three school structures--referred to as "school opportunity structures" throughout this report--that may affect kindergarten through 8th grade (K-8) students' mathematics learning. These structures are…

In states that fund public prekindergarten and kindergarten in elementary schools, principals are central to ensuring these programs support children's learning and development. Yet few studies explore how principals position these programs within their instructional leadership and what they perceive should be done by district leaders to support…

In this qualitative study, the researcher investigated and described the specific leadership practices employed by elementary principals in Texas to initiate school improvement in campuses designated as needing targeted support, additional targeted support, or comprehensive support and improvement by the Texas Education Agency (2023a). The…

This qualitative descriptive case study focused on elementary school teachers' perspectives on their principals' demonstrated leadership behaviors and how these behaviors affect their teacher self-efficacy. Limited studies revealed a relationship between teacher efficacy and principal leadership behavior when examining each factor separately.…

Elementary school principals play a key role in leading school personnel to provide prekindergartners and kindergartners with the support needed to ensure their short- and long-term school success. Yet, few studies examine how principals conceptualize what it means for children to be ready for school and how principals support students as they…

Effective school leaders are essential to the success of the school environment. Teachers have left schools due to poor and ineffective campus leadership, but often do not report the reasons why they left or do not have a safe mechanism in place to support their claims and drive campus change. The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand…

The purpose of this quantitative research study was to determine the relationship between leadership styles, conflict caused by dysfunctions in administrative leadership teams, teacher morale, and student performance on the reading and math sections of the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR). A total of 58 elementary school…

The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic increased the demands of the already challenging teaching profession. This study sought to investigate if correlations existed among the perceptions of teachers' regarding job satisfaction, principal leadership behaviors and school climate using pre- and post-surveys. Survey data was collected from a target…

This research project focused on understanding the experiences of Texas elementary school principals in relation to teacher non-renewal policies, ethical dilemmas, and district support. Three key research questions were addressed: 1. How do elementary principals in Texas experience the application of Texas teacher non-renewal policies and…

This study sought to explore the extent to which and how principals can help decrease the use of out-of-school suspension and close the racial discipline gap. This study comprised a qualitative case study of a principal in an urban school district. Data derive from in-depth interviews with current and former campus and district leaders, historical…

Current paradigms for curriculum and instruction have yet to address methods for encouraging intrinsic motivation using educational and psychological principles in a constructivist framework. This research examined the perceptions regarding the potential efficacy and effects of implementing a new paradigm, the Self Sculptor Model, that uses…

This non-experimental study examines the relationship between teachers' perceptions of their principals' use of transformational leadership styles and teachers' commitments and turnover intentions. The convenience sample consisted of participants from elementary teachers in Texas public school districts, as well as teachers from the researcher's…

Anecdotal evidence points to the importance of school principals, but the limited existing research has neither provided consistent results nor indicated any set of essential characteristics of effective principals. This paper exploits extensive student-level panel data across six states to investigate both variations in principal performance and…

Purpose: Most education systems were not initially designed to include students with disabilities. However, over the past 25 years, great strives have been taken to ensure students with disabilities have access to the general education classroom and to important social, emotional and academic opportunities. Within the USA, researchers have begun…